HERETIC: When heroes fall
by VaanRagnarok
Summary: The DC heroes have all but destroyed supercrime as we know it, but now a mysterious new villain has appeared and he plans to kill every hero off, one by one. Now finished, any reveiws are greatly welcome and appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**_HERETIC_**

_-when heroes fall-_

_**Chapter 1: Shattered Steel**_

Clark Kent stared out of the large windows by his desk, it was a slow day. For almost two months now every day had been a slow one. Ever since the league had started to really crack down on crime, well there had been none. Nothing more than petty stuff, and the cops could handle that. But he still kept his ears open, always listening, always waiting for something to happen.

"Hey Smallville, that story gonna get done on it's own?" Lois Lane looked down at him with her normal glare, somewhere between playful and genuinely annoyed. He snapped out of his daze and looked up at her, then at his open laptop. There was nothing but a blank page on his screen.

"Yeah sorry things have been a little slow lately and I'm just a little off." She raised an eyebrow and moved the stack of papers she was holding from one arm to the other.

"Yeah? Your quick to apologize Clark, something really that wrong?" He shook his head and smiled.

"Oh no don't worry about it Lois everything is good." She shrugged, walked off and he looked back out of the window. There was no reason why he should be upset that there was no crime, that was what he was here for after all, to get rid of crime. So why was he so worried about it? It was because it made him uneasy. Without villains was there a need for heroes? And without Superman what was Clark Kent?

But then he heard it, a cry for help. A cry that sounded so beautiful to his ears that it almost made him ashamed to hear someone in trouble. It was a cry for a hero, but not just any hero. It was a cry for him, for Superman.

He jumped from his desk and dashed to the roof, within minutes he was flying across Metropolis, no longer Clark Kent, he was himself now, he was Superman, man of steel.

He was so excited to be doing something again. It reminded him of when he first started doing this, it had been a long time since he had felt that way. The fact that it might be a trap never crossed his mind.

The sun and the wind felt good as he soared through the sky, it was a good day. He followed the cry to its source, a simple looking building, might have been a restaurant at one time, abandoned now. He touched down and ripped the door right off its hinges, he might have been a bit too eager.

It was dark, the windows had been boarded up and the only light was that that was spilling in through the doorway. A girl was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, she was badly beaten and looked only semi-conscious.

"Don't worry, I'm…"

Her head warily looked up and he could tell she was crying. Her eyes were wide with fear as she saw who he was.

"No no...he… he said…"

_**BOOM!**_

Flames and smoke engulfed the room as the girl's chair exploded. Superman couldn't react in time, regardless of how fast he was. The blast leveled the building, there was no chance that the girl survived. Superman stumbled out into the street, he couldn't stop coughing and his head was spinning.

"A trap? But that blast wasn't nearly enough to hurt me… it was made to kill the girl…" Anger swelled within him, whoever did this, whoever did this was going to pay.

"Well well well, the man of steel himself."

A voice came from behind him and he spun to see a person he had never seen before.

"You! You killed the girl?"

The man smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"She was merely a means to and end. Her death is of no importance."

Superman clenched his fist tight and got ready to destroy the man before him. The man was about six feet tall, maybe two hundred pounds, and muscular build. He wore all black, jeans, shirt, jacket, fingerless gloves, everything in a simple black. His hair was a pale white and was pulled back into a neat ponytail. He looked to be maybe twenty five, and well kept. He spoke again as he dusted off his shoulder.

'You, now _your_ death is one of great importance."

Superman thought about not even listening to him, he thought about ripping him in half for killing some innocent girl. But he couldn't do that, no matter what kind of sicko this guy was, he couldn't do that. The man seemed to read the expression on the man of steel's face.

"She was a hooker. Does that make you feel any better? No? Fine then, live with your misguided conscience."

Superman coughed again and he almost fell over. His vision blurred and he felt his nose running. He reached up and wiped blood from his nose.

"What? What the hell?"

The man laughed and put his hands in his pockets.

"You know, I'm not as fast as you, nor am I was strong. And I can by no means fly. No x-ray vision, no laser beam eyes, hell I don't even have a spiffy costume. Yet there is one thing that you have that I don't that really sets us apart."

Superman looked up at the man and couldn't seem to put together what was happening.

"That's right man-o-steel, a weakness is what truly makes me different from you."

Superman dropped down to a knee as spasms of coughing rushed over him and he tasted blood in his mouth.

"Kryptonite a fascinating substance really."

Superman's blood ran cold as he heard that word, kryptonite. What had this man done? Why did he feel so weak?

"You see, that explosion, well the bomb was coated in a fine layer of kryptonite, and that explosion was filled with kryptonite dust. It filled your lungs as soon as the bomb went off. I'm sure that the particles are reeking havoc on your insides right about now. It _is_ a pity. I assumed that you would be the toughest to kill, disappointing really."

"You… you can't…I am Super...man"

The man of steel fell to the ground hard. The man raised his arm and a flat blade shot out from his coat sleeve. It had a slightly glowing green edge to it that shimmered in the noon time sun. People had started to gather around now, worried people, why was Superman on the ground?

The man walked casually up to the downed Superman, admiring the blade on his arm. Superman struggled to his feet, staggering around as he did so. This couldn't happen to him, he was Superman. There was no hero in the world that was greater than him, Destroyers of entire worlds feared his name, and this was to be his fate?

"You are the forerunner for every hero in this world. You are the most well known, the most powerful. And that is why you must die first. But know that you will not be the last, others will follow you to the grave, all others. Every single one of you so called heroes will not survive, none will escape me."

He dashed forward, fast, to fast. With a single swipe of his blade, he slit Superman's throat. The blood of Superman spilled in the streets as the onlookers stared in awe. The man of steel fell to the ground without a word, for he could not speak. He lay there, staring up at the sky. Who the hell was this guy? Why had he set him up? He would never know. The sun felt good on his face, that was the last thing he thought as the world faded into darkness.

The man turned to the silent crowd as the blade slid back into his coat sleeve.

"I am the Heretic! Believe what you have seen here today! Believe and remember it! For this man is a symbol for things to come!"

And he ran off into an alley, jumping up and kicking from wall to wall until he was at rooftop level and out of sight. The crowd slowly moved towards Superman's body.

"Is he?"

"No way, he's Superman"

"I think he is…"

None of them could believe it. The man before them was indeed dead. Superman, the man of steel, was dead. The first had fallen.


	2. Chapter 2

**_HERETIC_**

_-when heroes fall-_

_**Chapter 2: Gone in a Flash**_

Wally West tapped his fingers on the table he was sitting at. Faster and faster without realizing it. He was quickly losing his patience with his fellow Justice Leaguers. They were trying to 'devise a plan'. Whatever. As far as he was concerned the best and only course of action was to find this guy, and make him pay for what he did.

"Screw this!" He lost his patience and flipped the table and kicked the chair across the room. "What the hell are we waitin for!"

Hawkgirl sent the Flash a dirty look as she stopped her conversation with Wonder Woman. She spoke to him with what little layer of calm she seemed to have left. "Wally, we need to figure out who did this before we can do anything about it"

Manhunter turned from the monitor he had been staring at. "Nothing, the descriptions that we have from the witnesses don't match any villain in the Watchtower's database."

Flash threw his arms up in the air and yelled at the Martian. "So what! So we don't know who he is, so what! His name doesn't really make a difference now does it!"

Manhunter showed no change in his demeanor. "He called himself the Heretic."

Anger flashed through Wally West's eyes and he almost charged the Manhunter. "Heretic! Heretic! I just said that I don't give a shit what his name was! Didn't I? Didn't I just say that?"

Green Arrow grabbed the Flash's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Look, We can't just go running into this. Anyone with the ability to…to do what he did has to be considered a serious threat."

Flash smacked Green Arrow's hand away and yelled at him. "Do what he did! He killed one of us! He killed Superman!"

Everyone flinched when he said it and looked away.

"None of you want to say it! None of you want to look it in the eye, but the cold hard truth is that he killed a man who we all came to know as a friend! This Heretic killed him and we don't even know how!"

"Kryptonite dust" Batman said as he entered the room. Everyone turned to look at him.

It had been six hours since the death of Superman in the streets of Metropolis. They had swooped in and taken the body in less than a half hour. It had taken some time to do an autopsy on the body considering his near impenetrable skin.

Batman walked past the Flash without even looking at him.

"There was a large amount of kryptonite dust in his lungs, microscopic particles. The official cause of death was blood loss from a severing of several major arteries in the neck, but this was only made possible due to a severely weakened state and the use of a kryptonite blade."

Hawkgirl tightened her grip on her mace and held her head down. "So what does that mean for us? What does that tell us about this guy?" she said under her breath.

Batman looked around the room, everyone was looking at him. "It means that he is smart, at least smart enough to not try and fight Superman one on one. And that means that we're dealing with someone who is at least of a lower level of power than him, and that's good. He had a plan, it was organized and professional, it almost looks like a hit. But, the odds of that are bad. This Heretic was able to get a hold of kryptonite, and he was able to make both components of a bomb, and a blade from it. Meaning he is either well connected or has his own advanced technology."

Wonder Woman seemed like she was almost on the verge of tears, but a fire burned inside of her, she wanted to get this guy as bad as flash, and she had no intent on letting him live. "So…So how do we find him?" She asked.

Batman gave his answer to everyone in the room instead of just Wonder Woman. "The best course of action is to spread out, cover all of our bases. I'm going to see if I can't find anyone who has moved kryptonite on the black market. Anything that anyone can do will be good… there is one more thing… He said that Superman wouldn't be the last, keep your heads straight."

Flash was already on his way to the teleporter before Batman had finished.

Everyone was leaving as fast as they could, everyone wanted to get this guy, but no one wanted to think about what he had done. Wonder Woman and Batman talked after most everyone had gone.

"We need to have some kind of service for him." She said, not quite meeting his gaze.

"I know, we will, after this mess is settled, after we find the Heretic…"

Flash held his eyes shut tight. He thought about what he was here for, thought about what he had to do. He was going to find the Heretic, that was all. He wasn't sure what he would do when he found him. If he did what he wanted to do… if he killed him… Superman wouldn't have wanted that, he wouldn't have tolerated it.

"But Superman is dead…" He said to himself. Saying it out loud took more effort than he thought it would, despite of what he had said to the others. He opened his eyes, he was ready to do what needed to be done. He stepped out of the alley he was in and looked out upon the city, not his city, it was Superman's. Metropolis looked the same as he had always seen it, bustling, alive. But he knew that underneath everyone of these peoples exteriors they were afraid. The news of Superman's death had spread like wildfire, most of the people didn't even believe it, but the fear was still there. He tore off down the street, weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians alike. He ran from one side of the city to the other, back again, around it, along it, every way he could. He had no idea what he was looking for, he just wanted to find what he was looking for. He didn't even realize that he was causing damage to the city around him, he was going to fast, sending shockwaves into buildings, flipping cars. But then he stopped dead in his tracks, he had heard something, he had heard his name. Dust blew past him a few seconds later from his speed as he stood still, listening for it again. Nothing came, he only heard the sounds of the city. It was strange, he normally heard nothing while he was running at such high speeds, but he had heard this. He took off again, and could hear it instantly. It was calling him to somewhere in the city, it had to be the Heretic. "Wally West, Wally West, Wally West" over and over again." Not many people knew his name, apparently the Heretic did. He made a decision at that moment, a decision not to radio in to the others, he wanted this guy for himself. And he headed for the source of the sound. He found it, in the middle of the street, a small transmitter. It must have been set to play on a frequency that could only be heard at high speeds. It was by no means a nice part of Metropolis, worn out buildings, dirty streets, no this was the old town that no one above lower lower class came into.

"Wally West"

The voice came from behind him, dry and plain sounding. Flash spun to see the man that he had been searching for, but that wasn't all.

"Linda!"

Flash felt his anger boil to a new level, the Heretic had his wife hostage. The Heretic smiled and tightened his grip around the woman's neck. He extended the blade under his sleeve, now devoid of kryptonite, and held it to Linda's neck.

"Ah, I see that you heard my call"

"You…You!"

Flash could hardly keep his composure as he looked at the scene before him.

"Linda… Linda don't worry"

She was crying, obviously scared, but she wasn't breaking down.

"Wally I…I…"

The Heretic tightened his grip again, shutting her up. Flash was ready to charge. He could have reached them, got Linda away and broken every bone in this bastard's body in the blink of an eye.

"I wouldn't be getting any ideas now red" The Heretic grinned from ear to ear as Flash halted his plan, could the Heretic read minds?

"I…" Flash almost did it anyway, but something about this situation didn't seem right, he couldn't put his finger on it, but it just didn't seem right.

"Just let Linda go! This is between you and me!"

"Oh I beg to differ. _This_ as you put it, is between me and every so called hero I can find. You are nothing more than a name on a list to me."

Flash could hardly keep himself at bay.

"Then why! Why would you go to the trouble of taking a hostage! How did you know I would be the one to find you!"

The Heretic laughed again.

"You found me? Did you not only find me because I led you here? Heh, no, I wasn't wrong about you at all. Your as predictable as Kent. Although… there is one thing that I was wondering, Why not go back in time? Why not stop me from killing Superman? Now I have my theories of course, but curiosity always gets the better of me."

Flash couldn't stand to look at this guy, he was so smug, so calm, like nothing was going on, just a conversation between acquaintances. He couldn't make eye contact with Linda, he felt like he was letting her down.

"I...I had thought of it. But the truth is, I wanted to kill you. I wanted to kill you, then go back and warn Supe. After I had the satisfaction of watching you die"

Linda winced and looked disappointed. "Wally…."

He looked away from her, for only a split second, but that's all it took. He saw movement, everything seemed to be going slow. He couldn't move, there was nothing wrong with him, but the sight he saw froze him in his tracks. With one clean swipe the Heretic slashed Linda's throat. She fell to the ground in slow motion, blood spurting from her neck as she did. Flash felt like he might pass out, a split second, he had only looked away for a split second. Then he snapped. He came to his senses, and put everything he had into one dash. The Heretic was in his sights, the only thing in his mind of vengeance. It all happened in a flash, he reached the Heretic almost instantly, grasped for his throat with one outstretched hand, rage rolling off of him in waves. But then he passed the Heretic, his hand went right through, to no effect. Flash stood some five feet behind the image of the Heretic that he had just passed through. The image shimmered and waved, a hologram.

"I…You…"

Flash tried to speak, but found himself enable to do so.

"None of you can hope to survive me… You all have a weakness, yours Wally West is your temper. Be assured that your wife is indeed dead, I am on live feed after all. But you are just a stepping stone to the rest, regardless of your skill, your life is over. Believe it Flash, you are dead.

Flash's body fell to the ground and his head fell from it as he hit. He blinked, one last time, as his body lay twitching inches away. Light shone down from the now setting sun and illuminated a single razor sharp wire strung tight across the street, barely visible to the human eye, not visible at all to someone in a rage such as Flash. The image of Heretic flickered again, then disappeared.

Miles away, he pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped the blood from his blade and slid it back into his sleeve. He stepped over the body of Linda Park and looked out into the city. He leapt from the roof of the building he was on and onto another. He casually walked over to a corner and bent over a suitcase that was there. He unclipped it and looked over its contents.

"Green Lantern should be along shortly… everything is working out fine."

Wally West, better known as the Flash, was dead. The second had fallen.


	3. Chapter 3

1**_HERETIC_**

_-when heroes fall-_

**Chapter 3: Broken Lantern **

Jon Stewart came down for a landing in the nearby park. He kept the full body shield up around him as he went about his way. He made a conscious effort to do so, there was no way this guy was surprising him.

"Jon! Jon!"

A voice came in over his ear piece and startled him slightly, this Heretic bastard had him a little jumpy despite himself.

"Shayera? That you?"

Shayera Hol, Hawkgirl. They had been having an on again, off again relationship for the past few years. But regardless of whether or not they were together, she was always a friend.

Her voice came over the earpiece again and he picked up a frantic tone to it.

"Jon! He's…r…th…etic…"

Green Lantern tapped at the earpiece, trying to get a better signal.

"Shayera there's something wrong with the signal, Shayera? Come in! dammit were are you?"

Something was wrong, Hawkgirl could more than take care of herself. The Heretic must have tricked her with something, just like Superman. But she didn't have such blatant weaknesses as he did, how could he have gotten her?

"Jon!... I…. Aaaaahhhhhh!"

"Shayera! Shayera were are you? Dammit answer me!"

He had to find her, he wasn't going to lose her, not like this, not this way. Maybe if he radioed the Watchtower Manhunter could trace her…

_Bang!_

A shot rang out in the park, sending a wave of pigeons lifting off into the air.

"Aaahhh!"

Green Lantern spun and fell to a knee. It felt like his power ring had just exploded on his hand. He tried to block out the pain, tried to keep his calm, but the pain was too much. He looked down at what was left of his hand, a grizzly mess of bone and blood, the entire right half of it wasn't even there. What had happened? The Heretic! He must have dropped his shield without realizing it… But Shayera? Had she really been in trouble? Was it a trick to get him to lose his concentration and drop his shield?

He got to his feet, clutching his arm in by his stomach. The ring, he had to get the ring. He may have been caught off guard, he may have been injured, but he could still fight back, as long as he had the ring. He ran and slid down behind a tree, the shot had to come from his right, it was the only way to have a clear shot. He didn't see anyone else in the park, must have been a sniper. He closed his eyes, and thought about the ring, he could feel it nearby. To risky to go out into the open…

"come to me…come to me…"

He willed the ring to return to him, holding out his left hand and feeling the connection to the power source, guiding his ring back.

"I'm sorry, but that won't be possible"

He opened his eyes to see the Heretic walking towards him smiling. He had his hand palm up, and in it was his power ring. Suspended inside a sphere of translucent energy. The energy looked like it was being generated by a metal glove that the Heretic was wearing.

"I see that you've noticed my little device yes? Well you see, with this I don't have to worry about your troublesome ring here. Quite a fascinating design in these power rings really, albeit somewhat simple."

Green Lantern jumped to his feet and got ready, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Where's Shayera? What did you do to her?"

The Heretic smiled again and held a small device up to his mouth.

"Jon! Help me Jon!"

He sounded just like Shayera. The device was a voice changer, a very sophisticated one at that.

Heretic laughed again

"You never even heard her Lantern, your communicator has been jammed ever since you came into this area."

"The League will notice… you can't jam my signal without them finding out…"

Heretic kept the smile on his face and held the voice changer up to his mouth again.

"Oh I don't think that will be a problem. You couldn't begin to understand the technology I have at my disposal, your Watchtower doesn't have a chance at detecting my equipment."

The voice he spoke in was Jon's own, and it sent chills down his spine.

Heretic put the voice changer in his coat and his face set to a grim look. He motioned to Jon's injured hand, then held the hand he was holding the ring in in the air.

"It looks as if we have a similar handicap, care to fight for your life? Or should I just kill you now?"

Jon locked his gaze with the Heretic's. He thought back, thought of all he had been through, all of the training, the hardships, the friends and enemies he had made. Who was this guy to challenge him like this? He would fight, he would fight even if he had nothing left to fight for. He would fight to his last breath whether he was fully capable or not. He could feel the fire inside of him building, growing, this wasn't impossible, this Heretic had just gotten in over his head and he was just the guy to show him that.

Heretic saw the fire in Green Lantern's eyes, the will to fight as strong as ever. The power ring sent tiny bolts of energy bouncing off of the inside of the sphere, Jon's will fueling it.

"Just as I thought… Come then, walk willingly to your grave."

Lantern charged, sending everything he had flying at the Heretic. But the man in black was fast, faster than Jon thought possible. He ducked and weaved Lantern's attacks, smiling all the while, he was toying with him. Heretic kept dodging, letting Jon wear himself out, but he wasn't about to let that happen. He swept low with a kick to take the Heretic off his feet, but the man jumped it. As Heretic came down he shot his free hand out and smashed his fist into Green Lantern's face. Jon went spiraling to the ground, hitting hard and staying down. His nose felt broken, but he could hardly feel it next to the pain in his hand. Heretic took to the offensive, kicking Jon in the ribs with one swift motion and sending him rolling away. He was on him in a split second, kicking him again, and again. He could tell his ribs were broken now, at least five of them. But he had to get up, had to fight. He rose to his feet, but the Heretic was still on him, a fist came flying into his face, sending him sprawling to the ground again. Heretic picked him up by the neck and slammed him against a tree. He held him up in the air with one hand, his feet just off the ground.

Choking, Jon tried to think, what could he do? Something! He had to do something! He kicked out, striking the Heretic in the groin, and he was dropped to the ground instantly. It was only a second before the man in black was at him again, his face distorted in anger, the first genuine emotion Jon had seen in him.

"You worthless little bug!"

He backhanded Lantern, knocking a tooth loose, but he kept his footing. He threw a punch, but Heretic was too good. He grabbed Green Lantern's fist and twisted his arm, snapping it like a twig.

"AAAGGRRAAHHH!"

Jon fell to his knees in pain, he now could use neither of his arms. Heretic's knee raced up and caught Jon right under the chin, snapping his teeth together, and shattering several of them. He fell to his side and coughed up teeth and blood as the Heretic soccer kicked him in the face. Jon was falling in and out of consciousness at that point. He couldn't see out of his right eye, and pain seemed to be washing over him in waves. He could feel himself being thrown around, beaten and broken, but it seemed like he wasn't in his own body any more, just an observer. The ring ceased to emit the tiny bolts of energy as it had before, now it just hovered silently within the orb.

The Heretic stopped his brutal attack and composed himself. He had gotten a little carried away. He looked at the blood covering his hand, then touched a bit of the splatter that was all over his face.

"Unfortunate…"

He said to himself as he rolled the unconscious Jon Stewart over onto his back with his foot.

"You actually managed to hit me… you got what you deserved, now you die"

He reached down and pulled Lantern up to his knees. Jon raised his head ever slightly, the last resemblance that he was alive.

The Heretic disabled his radio scrambler and let Green Lantern's signal come through normally.

High above the Earth, the Justice League's base, the Watchtower hung silently in the sky. Manhunter looked over the monitors in front of him, all of the League except for Batman was displayed on a radar. One of the signals flickered, Green Lantern. He tapped a button on the control panel and the Watchtower's satellite camera fed video of Lantern's location to Manhunter's console.

"What!"

Manhunter was surprised to see the scene before him, that of the Heretic looming over the broken Green Lantern. The Heretic looked up to the sky and spoke, his voice came in over Lantern's earpiece.

"Martian! You are watching us now are you not? See this mans death as the third of your league to fall!"

He pressed a small button on his belt and another dot on the Watchtower's tracker blinked, The Flash.

Manhunter brought up the image of Flash's body and hung his head, no one had known… He looked back to Heretic and spoke over the com.

"Leave him! You will not escape…"

And in one clean motion, Heretic extended the blade from his sleeve and sent it plunging into Jon Stewart's forehead.

"No!"

Manhunter screamed as he opened every com channel on the board.

"The Heretic! He's struck Flash and Green Lantern! The park! The park in central Metropolis!"

Confirmations and worried and sounds came back as everyone scrambled to the location.

"I'll be gone by the time they get here martian, but there is one more thing that I want you to hear."

And a hideous screeching signal lanced through the radio, boring into Manhunter's head like a knife.

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

The alien went sprawling off of his chair and slammed onto the floor, writhing in agony. He transformed back and forth between his true form and the one he normally took. The signal cut off sharply and there was no sound, only the reverberating echoes within Manhunter's head.

He crawled back onto the chair, and the Heretic was gone.

The man known as Jon Stewart, the Green Lantern, was dead. The third had fallen.


	4. Chapter 4

1**_HERETIC_**

_-when heroes fall-_

**Chapter 4: Fallen Angel **

Shayera Hol screamed at the top of her lungs and swung her mace at the nearest tree, shattering it in half and sending the debris crashing to the ground.

"Hawkgirl! Control yourself!"

Wonder Woman yelled for Shayera to calm down. Rage burned inside of Shayera, but grief was slowly overpowering it. She couldn't bring herself to look at his body again. She had seen his face when her and the others had first arrived, he had been beaten so badly that she didn't recognize him. She had cried, and she hated herself for it. She had told herself that she didn't have feelings for Jon anymore, but it seemed that she had been wrong.

"Your telling me to calm down?"

Hawkgirl screamed at Wonder Woman, partially to keep her mind from lingering, and partially because she had just realized how Diana had spoke to her.

Wonder Woman turned back towards her with an angry look on her face.

"Yes, I did. Now I understand that this isn't an easy time Hawkgirl, but isn't easy for anyone, not just you."

She poked her finger into Shayera's shoulder. The two women stared each other down. They were both ready to snap, and there was nothing to hold them back.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Shayera said.

"I'm in charge, and that's all you need to worry about" Wonder Woman did not back down in the slightest.

"Under who's authority? Who the hell are you to think you can lead? Because I'll tell you something right now, your no Superman!" Shayera's words bit into Wonder Woman with visible effect.

She started to say something, then rethought her words.

"You had better get yourself under control before I have to do it for you" Wonder Woman said as she pointed a finger at Hawkgirl.

"Ladies, get a hold of yourselves." Green Arrow said as he walked up into the clearing in the park they were in. He looked down at Green Lantern's body and shook his head.

"It's a damn shame…He was a good man" He looked up to see Shayera turn away just as her eyes got teary. She leapt into the air, wings spread wide and flew away without a word. Green Arrow turned to Wonder Woman and started to say something, but she pushed past him and walked away.

"Bastard has everyone on edge…"

Hawkgirl didn't know were she was going, and she really didn't much care. Tears streamed down her face and were swept away by the wind. She flew for what seemed like hours, it had gotten dark and she had gone past the edge of the city. Just flying and flying until she felt like she couldn't go any more. Truth be told she had no idea were she was, and she really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, so she decided that maybe it was for the best. She had smashed her earpiece right after leaving the park, were she went was her business. There was nothing around, just rolling hills, some trees here and there, and the crystal clear night sky above her. Shayera slowly came to a landing to rest and sat down on a low hill. She looked up at the stars and felt tears welling up again, no, she was done crying. There was no way she was going to be broken over this. Now was not the time for grievance, it was a time for vengeance.

Wonder Woman walked back and forth, trying to think of a plan. Her and the others had gone back to the Watchtower after picking up the bodies of Flash and Lantern. Manhunter had taken a break from researching, he said that he had a headache. Diana had never seen him even get tired, let alone stressed out to the extent that he was. But she didn't think much of it, everyone was on edge now with what was happening. Green Arrow stood leaning against the far wall, staring out the window and down at the Earth far below. No one knew were Batman was, which wasn't much of a change, but now it had her nervous. Hawkgirl was missing to, but as far as she was concerned she could fend for herself.

"Were is Manhunter, and Hawkgirl?"

Wonder Woman turned to see Batman walk into the room. She hadn't heard him come in, but no one ever did.

"The Martian is in his quarters, as for Hawkgirl I do not know."

Diana said to him. Seeing him made her feel a little better, just knowing he was ok. Green Arrow snapped to attention the second he saw Batman and rushed over to him.

"Were the hell have you been all this time! We're out there trying to figure out who this guy is, and two of us get killed! And were is the big bad Dark Knight? Who the hell knows!" Green Arrow made it instantly clear that he did not trust Batman in the slightest.

"It's none of your business." Batman said flatly, hardly looking at Arrow.

"Bullshit! I don't trust you for one second! How do we know you don't have something to do with this!" Arrow laid it all out.

"_We _know that he doesn't have anything to do with it because he is one of us!" Wonder Woman cut in.

Green Arrow gave her a dirty look, then looked back at Batman.

"I'm watching you, regardless of whether or not your little girlfriend here likes it or not." He walked out of the room without looking back.

"Tensions are running high, that's all." Diana said as she ran a hand through her hair.

Batman shook his head and sat down at a console.

"He isn't wrong you know, any one of us could have something to do with this. It would be best if we watched the others very closely."

She thought about it for a second. She didn't like keeping tabs on other League members, but it made sense given the situation.

"Right… I guess that we have no choice…"

Shayera was asleep. She had exhausted herself without realizing it the night before and had fallen asleep were she came down to rest. Visions of Jon flashed through her head as she slept.

"If only he had been stronger… If only I were there… then maybe…" She muttered to herself unconsciously. A sharp laughter nearby woke her from her sleep in an instant.

"What…?"

She looked around, snatching at the mace at her side, to find that it was not there.

"If only If only the woodpecker cried, the bark on the trees was as soft as the skies..." It was the Heretic, sitting under a nearby apple tree, smiling as he saw her rise. He was polishing an apple with his coat sleeve, and her mace was next to him leaning up against the tree. Shayera braced herself and balled her fists.

"You! What are you doing here!" She screamed, surprised at herself for not just ripping his head off.

"Here? Well I was just watching you sleep, harmless enough." His smile stretched from one side of his face to the other, and his eyes seemed to bore into her soul. She didn't know what to say, he had caught her off guard in more ways than one. The Heretic just kept staring, waiting for her to reply. Never blinking, just looking at her with the stare that made chills run down her spine.

"I…No, You killed Jon!" She tried to pry herself from his gaze, but found herself unable to.

He brought the apple up to his mouth and took a bite, still looking at her. The man in black chewed slowly and swallowed. He licked a small bit of juice form his lips and spread his smile back out.

"Say something you…" She started to talk, but Heretic cut her off in mid sentence.

"Your quite beautiful you know." He reached down beside him and held up her mask In his free hand. She felt the chill again, she hadn't even noticed that she wasn't wearing it. Something about him…something told her that he was dangerous. She had raged into entire armies alone, yet this one man sitting under an apple tree made her shake with fear. She couldn't explain it, something about his eyes… something unspeakable.

"What… what did you do…?" the words escaped her lips, she hadn't meant to say them. Her mind raced, how long had he been here? How long had she been asleep? He stood from under the tree and tossed the apple over his shoulder, his grin never fading and his gaze never diverting.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Shayera" He let the name roll off his tongue with satisfaction. He tossed her mask at her feet and leaned back against the tree.

"Put it back on if you want, but it saddens me that you want to hide that face." He crossed his arms and acted like there was nothing at all odd about the situation.

She looked down at the mask, and kicked it away with her foot, she didn't need it anyway. Her eyes darted to her mace next to the Heretic then quickly back to him. Could she grab it? Was she fast enough?

"If you want it back, all you have to do is ask" He didn't look at the mace, but he knew what she was thinking. Shayera couldn't let him mess with her head like he was, she had to shake this feeling of fear. She was a warrior, she had no fear! She dashed for the mace, pushing off with her legs and set her wings stroke back in one powerful motion, propelling her forward. He was inches from it, and the Heretic had not moved, but his eyes followed her all the way in. She reached it, fingers wrapping around the handle and her feet hitting the ground again. She swept her wings forward, stopping her momentum and swinging the mace up in one smooth motion. The Heretic was already moving, he leapt away, setting one hand against the ground and flipping out of reach. She didn't let up, dashing at him again, she swung with everything she had. She could feel her strength coming back, with her weapon in hand the Heretic was nothing more than a target as far as she was concerned. But he ducked it again, let her take swing after swing, the energy of the mace crackling as it tore by him again and again. He effortlessly dodged another swing and came in at her in a flash. He let his finger slide down the side of her face as he did so, then ducked past her. She stumbled and spun to see him leaning against the tree again, still grinning from ear to ear. The fear began to creep back in, but she forced it out and charged him, mace held high in rage. She brought the weapon down with full force, but the Heretic shot one hand out, outstretched fingers hitting her in the wrist. The mace flew from her hand and into the air. He snatched it and grabbed her arm. He spun her around and pinned her against the tree with the mace shaft pressing into her neck, choking her.

"I said just to ask for it, now beg me." He held his face so close to her that they were almost touching. She gritted her teeth and spoke through them.

"Give… it…back…" He smiled again and put his mouth right up to her ear and whispered.

"Now what's the magic word?" She reached up and grabbed the mace as best she could and pushed hard. She kicked out as she did and sent the Heretic rolling back. He quickly gained his footing back, but she braced herself and whipped her wings forward as hard as she could. The gust managed to catch the Heretic off guard, and she took the only advantage she had gotten. She rushed forwards, bringing her fist up in a powerful uppercut that connected with the Heretic's jaw. He was sent sprawling to the ground and her mace fell from his hands. He looked up with surprise in his face. She bent down and picked up her mace from the ground and charged it with energy.

"Please?" She said mockingly as she felt her confidence coming back in a rush. The Heretic stood and spit blood off to the side, his smile was gone. The two fighters stared each other down, it was time to end this little game. Heretic extended the blade hidden under his right sleeve. Hawkgirl tightened her grip on the mace, then motioned him to come on.

There was a second of silence, then a flash of action. Hawkgirl swung high and the Heretic ducked it, slashing with his wrist blade as he did so, but Hawkgirl pulled back just in time to miss it. She made a fake swing with no momentum behind it and kicked with her opposite foot, but Heretic blocked with his leg and smacked her with the flat part of his blade. She stumbled back, and could taste blood in her mouth. Shayera could feel the adrenaline pumping through her as it had in so many battles, she was determined to not make this her last. Heretic had gotten his smile back, and was far from out. He came at her and brought his blade down from above his head in a hard deliberate motion. Shayera held her mace up with both hands and blocked with the shaft. She hardly had time to react, as a second blade sprung from his other sleeve and he plunged it deep into her abdomen. She felt her insides being torn as he twisted the blade and yanked it out. Blood came with it and Hawkgirl dropped down to a knee. She willed herself on, ignoring the pain she swung her mace up in a heavy arc. The Heretic narrowly dodged it, surprise washed across his face again. But she was hurt, and he circled her like a hungry wolf closing on its prey. She stood again, holding one hand over her wound. The man in black shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

"What's wrong Shayera? Never been penetrated?" Rage swelled in her as she charged him. But she wasn't about to make this easy. She leapt into the air, wings helping her along and flipped over him. She landed and swung hard as she spun around. The Heretic held up his arm to block it, but the mace smashed his wrist blade into pieces and forced him to move with the momentum of the hit so his arm wouldn't shatter. She stood ready, breathing heavily and bleeding bad. He looked down at his broken blade, then back up to her.

"I underestimated you Shayera, your instincts are strong. But you are of ones I have chosen, and for that you must die."

"Tell me Heretic, why? Why have you killed my friends?" Hawkgirl could feel her strength slowly leaving her, but there was nothing that could make her give up. He smiled and slicked back a strand of hair that had fell forward.

"You and your kind are a plague on this world. That is all the explanation I can give you." He pressed a button on his belt, and her mace sent out a powerful blast of electricity though her body.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" She fell to the ground and another blast of her own weapon hit her. She lay twitching on the ground as shock after deadly shock raced through her body. Shayera knew that she was done, she could no longer fight. She got to her hands and knees as the Heretic slowly picked up her mace. She arose to her knees as he raised the mace high above his head.

"Have…you…no…honor?" were the last words she spoke as she looked up at the man in black.

"Honor is for the dead" And he brought the weapon down for one last blow. For Hawkgirl, the world went black, and for a second, she thought she could see Jon.

Shayera Hol, the woman known as Hawkgirl, had been killed. The fourth had fallen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Now you see me…**

Oliver Queen, Green Arrow, walked down one of the millions of halls in the Watchtower. He was pretty sure that this one led to the main control room, but it wouldn't have been the first time he had gotten lost in this damn place. It wasn't that he didn't recognize that the place was amazing; it was just that he felt the money could have been spent in a much better way. Being up here was why most of these people forgot about helping the little guy and he couldn't stand that. They spent the majority of their time messing with some alien's problem from nine million light years away, and the average guy got left behind.

He was having trouble piecing together this Heretic situation. The man had killed three people in cold blood, yet there didn't seem to be any reason besides that they were super-powered. Some kind of vendetta against superheroes suggested that he had been caught by one at some point, but the Watchtower computers made no connection to a prior villain. He wasn't about to count out the possibility of the bat doing this though. The man couldn't be trusted and he seemed to be the only one that knew it. He didn't doubt for one second that Batman had snapped and started to kill of his fellow League members. It may have been a stretch, but the possibility was still there. So far no one had even seen the guy and lived. The Martian couldn't use the Watchtowers tracking devices because of a scrambler that the Heretic had used and he said by the time the scrambler cut off, Lantern was dead and the Heretic was gone.

On top of that, Hawkgirl had come up missing and everyone feared for the worst. He finally came up to the entrance to the main room and he could see the shadow of what looked like a wing.

"Thank god, Hawkgirl we thought you…" He turned into the room and stopped in mid sentence. Shayera Hol's body was hanging from the ceiling by a cable that wrapped around her neck.

"Oh no…Dammit…"

Most of the right side of her head was gone from some kind of heavy impact and there was a large stab wound on her stomach. Her mace lay at her feet, which were suspended just above the ground. He touched the tiny button on his earpiece with his index finger and opened a channel.

"This is Green Arrow…I think that everyone needs to come to the main control room…"

Wonder Woman's voice was the first to come back.

"What is it Arrow?"

"I… I think you better come see for yourself." He said.

Everyone had come to the control room quickly, the Manhunter was there first, phasing up through the floors with ease. Batman and Wonder Woman walked in together minutes later.

"Shayera…I… We had a fight right before she left…" Wonder Woman could hardly look at the body.

"Let's get her down" Green Arrow said, and he and Manhunter took her down and carefully laid her off to the side.

Batman stood silently staring at the scene, then spoke with urgency.

"He was here… to do this he had to have been in the Watchtower!" He turned to Wonder Woman who looked as if she had just come to the same conclusion.

"He may still be here." Batman said as he leapt into a seat and tapped at a console.

"…Nothing… He must have tampered with the computers; they aren't even picking up our life signs. They won't be able to tell us if he's here."

Manhunter looked over a console near him and came up with the same results.

"Alright, everyone fan out, there is a lot of Watchtower to cover, but we'll have the best chances if we each take a fourth." Wonder Woman said as she headed for the door.

Manhunter nodded in agreement and phased down through the floor. Batman got up to leave, but Green Arrow stepped into his path.

"Get out of my way." Batman and Green Arrow stared at each other. Neither man trusted the other at all. Arrow pushed past him without saying anything, and both men left the room in a hurry.

Manhunter Phased down through the ceiling and into a hallway. He floated there for a second, listening for anything. There was nothing there. He phased through a wall and into a room that was used for storage. He heard something from outside the door, footsteps. None of the others could have been here this fast, it was the Heretic. He phased into the hall, just in time to see someone at the other end of hall turn the corner. He tried to activate his ear piece, but it didn't seem to work now. He followed around the corner, still floating to not make any sound. He kept going, hallways, rooms, back into halls. The man was always one step ahead of him. Even when he cut through walls, the man managed to say ahead. Then he lost him, as fast as he had caught on to him, he was gone.

"Were… did you go…?" He said to himself as he silently hovered along. Something gave him the feeling he was being watched, he spun to see the Heretic at the end of a long hall, facing away from him. He could hear voices, so many voices, but he couldn't tell were they were coming from.

"Just a trick, an illusion…He's trying to confuse me…" Manhunter raced towards the Heretic. Feet, inches, he was at him, but the man in black turned just as Manhunter got to him. The Martian stopped dead and drew his hands up in defense as the Heretic's face melted away to a skull, and flames spewed forth from every direction, enclosing him. He panicked, tried to run, but the flames consumed him, he felt the fire and heard the Heretic laughing. So many voices, so much pain, he couldn't stand it any more, he felt himself fading away slowly into darkness.

Wonder Woman threw her earpiece away and cursed it under her breath. She walked around the Watchtower warily, but her mind was still on Shayera. She felt so bad for fighting with her before… now she had to live with it. She took one of the many elevators in the base up a floor and got off.

"If you're here Heretic, come out and fight me! I, Princess Diana of the Amazons challenge you!" There was no reply. This Heretic didn't scare her, he might have been able to kill many of her friends, so many, but as strong as they were they were no warriors. Even Hawkgirl, she had come from a warrior race, but Diana had trained with gods, she feared no mere mortal. Assuming the Heretic was one. More halls, more rooms, nothing. She went up another floor, same thing, empty. She thought to herself how empty this place was now that everyone had gone. The League had been huge once, but not many of the new recruits had lasted long. Most left for personal reasons, others couldn't cut it in the big leagues. The few that were left took off after they had wiped out the remaining super villain population and put them behind bars. There would always be more, sure, but with so many down and out there was no need for all the other heroes.

She turned a corner and nearly took Batman's head off.

"Diana! It's me!" He said as he saw her alarm. She hardly seemed to drop her guard.

"How do I know you're… who you say you are?" She eyed him suspiciously. He held his hands up and took a step back.

"It's me Diana, It's Bruce." Or do you need to lasso of truth me? He said with a slight smile. She shook her head and let her balled fists relax. They started walking together and she felt a little better. She liked that he felt comfortable enough with her to joke, even if he did it rarely.

"Were do you think he would go?" She said as they walked on. He didn't say anything at first, than said it as if he had been thinking it over for a while.

"I'm not even sure that he is here." She stopped and looked at him.

"What?" She wasn't sure she had heard him right. He turned back to her and said it again.

"I don't know, I just get the feeling that everything isn't so simple…"

Oliver turned a corner, bow drawn and ready. He had been at it for about twenty minutes now, but had found nothing. He came to a room that's window overlooked the large training area in the Watchtower. He stopped and crouched down at the window, there was someone down there. Someone that was moving through the shadows. He couldn't tell who it was, but the important thing was that he saw them.

"Think you're slick? Well I'm no slouch…I…See…You." Green Arrow waited while the figure moved out of the room, then he slowly slid open the window. He tied off a rope and climbed silently down to the ground. Slowly slinking in the direction that the other had went. He stalked down the hall, making sure he was far enough behind that he wouldn't be spotted, but he couldn't get close enough to see who it was. He slowly stuck his head around the next corner. He pulled his head back just in time to miss something whizzing down the hall at him.

"What the hell?" He rolled backwards and came up to his feet, drawing his bow with an arrow in one motion. He sprang around the corner, but the man was gone. He turned to look at what had narrowly missed him.

"Son of a bitch…" He pulled the projectile out of the wall and realized that it was a Batarang. He threw it aside and took off down the hallway.

Wonder Woman ran a hand through her hair as her and Batman waited for the elevator to come.

"I wonder if the others have had any luck." She said. He looked at her and spoke.

"Who knows, there are an endless number of places he could be hiding, assuming he is here." The elevator opened and they stepped in.

Green Arrow shot the security pad on the door in front of him with an arrow. Sparks shot from it and the door slid open. He leapt into the room and drew another arrow.

"Stop! I've got you cornered!" He yelled to the figure on the other side of the room. The figure stopped and turned to him. It stepped out of the shadows, and the unmistakable form of Batman stood before him.

"You?" Green Arrow lowered his bow at the sight of him.

"I thought you were…" Oliver stopped in mid sentence and spun around at the sound of oncoming footsteps. He rolled backwards and drew an arrow back, covering the door. Batman pulled a Batarang from his belt and got ready. Green Arrow was shocked when the person dove into the room, because the person was another Batman.

"Arrow! He's a fake!" The second Batman yelled as he pulled out a Batarang.

"Don't fall for this! It's the Heretic!" The first Batman yelled back. Green Arrow swung his bow back and forth between the two Batmen, trying to see through the lies; one of them had to be a fake.

Green Arrow and the two Batmen were still in a stand off. Something crossed Arrow's mind that made him stop. He swung the bow around to the second Batman.

"I would have never heard the real thing coming up behind me!" He fired his bow at the imposter. Green Arrow saw the events unfolding in slow motion before him. His arrow cut through the air towards the imposter, but the first Batman threw his Batarang just as the arrow left the bow. Green Arrow didn't have time to react as the Batarang sliced through his left arm and the bow fell from his grip. The imposter caught the arrow with ease and flung it aside.

Green Arrow dropped to one knee and instinctively held his hand over the gash in his arm. What had just happened? Had he been wrong?

Laughter came from the Batman he had shot at and the man pulled back his mask, his white hair falling out and revealing that he was the Heretic.

"You certainly are clever, but I'm afraid that isn't enough." Heretic ran a hand through his hair as the other Batman stood silently. Arrow couldn't figure out what was going on as his looked from Heretic to Batman.

"Him? Oh well, I believe that you know him better than you may think." The Heretic said motioning towards Batman. Batman shook for a second, and then slowly melted into the form of the Manhunter. Green Arrow couldn't believe it, they were betrayed?

"He was pathetically easy to manipulate really. All I had to do was send a nice little sonic pulse his way and the poor little alien lost his mind. Of course I did have to sneak in a few suggestions along with the pulse." Heretic laughed again as he pulled a gun from behind his back.

"Every hero has a weakness Arrow, yours is that you're overwhelmingly mortal." He fired the gun nine times into Green Arrow's chest, killing him. The Heretic turned and fired one round into the Manhunter's head and dropping him to the ground.

"I'm afraid that you're no use to me anymore." He threw the gun aside and hit a button on his belt. The Heretic walked out of the room whistling to him self without looking back.

Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, had been killed. The Martian that went by the name of J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, had also been killed. They were the fifth and sixth to fall.

Wonder Woman and the real Batman had made their way back to the control room and were about to look for the others when Diana noticed something. She walked over to a console and looked at a tiny flashing red light.

"Is this?..." A mechanical voice came over the loud speaker just as she realized what the light meant.

"WARNING, THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL SELF DESTRUCT, THIRTY SECONDS."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: No time for goodbyes**

Two escape shuttles rocketed away from the watchtower and burned into the atmosphere. A second later the watchtower detonated into a ball of white fire. The shockwave ripped out through the sky violently and smashed into the shuttles. They went spiraling out of control and spinning down towards the ground dangerously. The first shuttle slammed into the water hard and disappeared into a wave of debris and water.

The second shuttle came in at a forty five degree angle, smashing hard into a hill and ripping up into the air again. It broke apart as it slid to a stop after skidding into the ground and leaving a trail of debris behind it. Smoke poured from the shuttle as it began to burn. Wonder Woman burst out of it, ripping away at the burning shuttle and throwing the pieces off of her. She leapt up and out of the wreckage, landing with a stumbling step. She was injured, not very badly, but enough to slow her down. She shook her head and tried to get rid of the headache she had. She looked around the area, trying to find where Bruce went down. She couldn't see him, he must have landed further away than expected. She heard clapping and spun around to see the Heretic smiling and walking towards her. He applauded her as his devilish grin spread out over his face. "Well done, well done indeed. I am quite impressed in your physical capabilities. Granted, I wouldn't have expected any less from you." He said mockingly. Diana gritted her teeth and balled up her fists as anger swept over her at the sight of him. "You…" She said angrily. "I finally have my chance to rip you limb from limb!" She yelled at him. He laughed and waved his hands around. "Does this look like a fantasy land? No? Well than how exactly do you expect to do that you arrogant little twat?" His smile never leaving his face. Diana started walking towards him and thought to herself. There was nothing that could stop her from destroying him. "This ends here Heretic!" She said with rage building within her. He casually pulled a series of metal rings connected by wires out of his pocket and put them on his hand. He held his hand up and electricity crackled around it. Diana charged at him at full speed, whatever he was going to do, she wasn't going to let him. She leapt into the air with her arms raised and ready to strike. The Heretic smiled and spun his hand to face his palm upwards. A bolt of electricity shot from the glove and hit Wonder Woman in the chest. She fell to the ground as a translucent ball of light formed around her and connected to the Heretic's glove by a constant streamed of electricity. Diana leapt to her feat and slammed her fists into the ball of light. Nothing happened as she hit it again and again, she was unable to break it.

"You know, this was able to hold a Green Lantern's power ring… I really hate to use the same trick twice, but given your impressive physical abilities I really had no choice." She slammed her fists into it again, not the kind to give up. "You cannot hold be forever Heretic! And when your power for this device runs out, you are going to wish you had never been born!" The Heretic scratched his nose with his free hand and shook his head. "Unfortunately for me that is true, but unfortunately for you, I never planned on holding you for long." He slowly began closing his hand and the force shield around Wonder Woman slowly started to shrink. She began to panic, hold her hands out to the sides and pushing out, but it didn't even slow the shrinking prison down. She screamed as she pushed with all of her strength, her muscles bulging as she gave it everything she had. "Why are the strongest of you always the easiest?" The Heretic said as Wonder Woman began to buckle. He sighed and closed his fist hard, the orb shrinking down to the size of a basketball in a second. He turned it off and stepped back from the mess he had made. "Disgusting… but necessary." He said as he slipped the device off of his hand and put it back into his pocket. He turned and started walking away, thinking to himself as he readied himself for his next obstacle. "It is so close to being finished… I can feel the end coming closer…" He held his head as a sharp pain raced through him. He dropped down to a knee and tried to shake it off. "What… What are you showing me now? Is this what is to come?" Visions raced through his head as he shook and gritted his teeth. "Yes… Yes I understand now… but why can't I see it all yet? Why do you still only show me so much?" He stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This way then?" He said to himself as he walked away.

Batman burst from the water gasping for air. He had barely gotten himself out of the escape pod after it crashed into the water. He swam to shore, luckily it wasn't far away. He drug himself up and slowly got to his feet. He wasn't hurt, but he didn't feel too great either. He tapped a few buttons on his belt and looked around while he waited. "I can't believe that he has done so much damage… The Watchtower… the body count…" He turned his head as the BatJet came roaring into sight. It touched down close by and he leapt up into it as the cockpit slid open. It shut over him as the jet arose into the air. He tapped at the controls and looked over the screen. "Where did you land Diana?" A red square popped up on the screen in front of him and pinpointed a spot on the map. "There you are." He said as he took the jet out. He could see the smoke from a good distance away. The jet swooped down and slowed as he got over the area. He could see that he was too late from the air, there was no need to go down. Without a word he took the jet south and burned all the way to Gotham.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Black Waltz**

Bruce Wayne sat silently in the back of his car and stared out the window. He was deep in thought; his mind swirled and churned with thoughts of the Heretic. This was no time for a party, he didn't have time for this damn thing but he had already ignored three of these in a row.

"Something wrong master Bruce?" Alfred said from the front. Bruce snapped out of his trance and looked up at Alfred. "It's this Heretic bastard, I don't know enough about him to develop a good plan… And no one can even tell me how he fights, or with what exactly."

"Well master Bruce, we have arrived." He said as he stopped the car. Bruce sighed as one of the party personnel opened his door. He stepped out and plastered on his best fake smile. He waved to the paparazzi and made his way up the red carpet. A large bouncer looked at him and smiled. "Mr. Wayne, go right in sir." He said in a deep voice. Bruce walked past him and into the fundraiser party. The night was a boring one; the party was full of high powered business executives and their snotty wives. He drifted in and out of one pointless conversation after another; he could care less about these people.

"Sir you are not on the guest list! Don't make me say it again!" Someone yelled from the front of the building. Everyone's attention turned as his yelling drowned out the light music. Bruce sat his wine glass on a passing by waiter's table and moved towards the door. The large bouncer was yelling at a man that he dwarfed, and three other big bouncers had surrounded the man. The much smaller man smiled and ran a gloved hand back across his pulled back white hair. "Well I'm afraid that I have some business inside my large friend." The man said as a grin spread over his face. "That's it, you're gone!" The bouncer screamed and reached for him.

"Heretic…" Bruce said to himself in a daze. He didn't know what it was, but there was something about this man that made him know that he was the Heretic.

The Heretic took a step back and both of his wrist blades slid out as he spun in one smooth motion, slicing the neck of every bouncer around him. They fell to the ground as blood spurted from their necks and they choked out their last seconds of life. Bruce sprung into action, leaping through the air and coming down at the Heretic in a flipping kick. Heretic let both of his blades slid back in and grabbed Bruce's foot and sent him flying back into the party.

"Batman ladies and gentlemen!" The Heretic said with a grin as he pointed towards Bruce dramatically. Everyone was somewhere between panicked and shocked as they scattered around screaming. Bruce's blood ran cold as his secret was revealed. "What's the matter Batman? Not as much of a blooming socialite as you would have everyone believe? Come on! Secrets are only fun when everyone knows!" He said as a laughed escaped his throat. Bruce gritted his teeth pulled his jacket off. The Heretic casually walked into the room and whistled as he checked his non-existent watch. "Anytime now, I'm ready when you are." He said. Bruce ripped off his tie and motioned for the Heretic to come at him. Bruce had been caught off guard, not something that happened often to him, but he was damned if that was going to stop him. They came at each other, two masters of hand to hand combat showing that they were indeed the best. Bruce swept low with a kick, but the Heretic jumped overtop of him and grabbed the top of Bruce's head. He tried to snap his neck in mid-air but Bruce spun his body with the attack and rotated, sending a kicked up at the Heretic. Heretic blocked it upside down in the air, but it sent him flying away. He flipped to his feet as Bruce sent a palm his way with crushing force. Heretic crossed his arms in front of him and blocked the attack, but it slid him back on the ballroom floor. Bruce leapt forwards and lanced his hands out in a flurry of strikes that the Heretic blocked easily, matching his speed with no problem. Heretic spun on his heel and sent a hard horizontal spin kick tearing at Bruce. Bruce cart wheeled overtop of the kick and came up in a hard uppercut. Heretic moved his head back an inch, just barely letting the uppercut miss his face. He smiled and head butted Bruce hard, sending him stumbling back. "You don't have a very definite style do you?" Bruce said with disgust as he wiped the blood from his nose. Heretic smiled and cracked his neck as he spoke.

"Neither do you, but somehow you think that you piecing together numerous martial arts techniques is better than me piecing them together with simpler styles, am I right?"

Bruce cracked his knuckles and put his fists up. "Whatever works." Bruce said as he dashed forward, driving and elbow into the Heretic's stomach and sending him rolling backwards. Heretic went with the momentum, rolling backwards to his feet and ducking as Bruce ripped a kick through the air just above his head. Heretic punched Bruce's leg out from under him. Bruce winced in pain as he spun in the air, but planted one hand firmly on the ground and whipped his legs around and kicked the Heretic in the side of the head and sending him crashing down to the ground.

Heretic jumped to his feet and Bruce was on him in an instant. Bruce put his fists together and brought them down hard. Heretic shot his hand up and hit Bruce's fists with outstretched fingers, breaking them apart as his other hand snaked in and hit Bruce in the throat. Bruce stumbled back, holding his neck and gasping for air frantically. Heretic landed a hard hook to Bruce's ribs and doubled him over as Heretic brought his knee up and smashed it into Bruce's face and sent him flying away. Bruce scrambled to his feet as he coughed and struggled to get his wind back. "What the hell are you?" Bruce choked out. Heretic smiled and cracked his neck. "What? Is it time for twenty questions already? Fine then, you want to know what I am? I am the same as you, a man. Exciting isn't it?" Heretic smiled and laughed. Bruce wasn't sure he had heard right. "A man? Do you think that's funny? Do you really expect me to believe that you're normal?" Bruce yelled at him. Heretic smiled and bowed. "Oh, you got me Batman! I was a man once… so that much is at least true…. But I have become something so much more than that now!" Heretic screamed back. Bruce clenched his fists and got ready. "There is no way that you're human, you've kept up with me every step and you're not even out of breath! And the things that you have done! No human being could have been capable of that!" Heretic laughed again and pulled his gloves on tighter. "Like I said, I am much more than a human being!"

"Then why! What is your purpose for all of this!" Bruce yelled at him.

"My purpose? Now you're on the right track Bruce! I'm all purpose!" He laughed and held his arms out theatrically. "I am he who will save this world! I am the chosen! An exterminator sent to weed out that which will destroy humanity!"

"So you kill the only thing protecting humanity? You're a hypocrite!" Bruce said as he moved back towards a table full of silverware and plates. "No! I have been shown the way! I have been shown that YOU are the reason for the fall of man! YOU and your kind have weakened the human race! They have become complacent with your care! They rely on you for their protection, but your presence has brought forth far greater threats than there ever would have been before!" The Heretic screamed at the top of his lungs, losing his composure and waving his arms around.

"You have been shown? What does that mean? Are you from the future? Can you see the future?" Bruce said as he slowly reached towards the table.

"The future? No, there is no future for this place, not yet at least… There will be no future until I am finished! My visions have shown me the fall of man! My visions have shown me where to acquire the things I need! They show me how to build my glorious tools of war! Sometimes they show me every move of every fight, and other times they only show me where and when."

"What visions Heretic? Why do you have these visions!" Bruce continued to try and figure his enemy out.

"Why! Why! You want to know why? Listen more carefully Batman! I have already told you why! I am the protector of mankind! You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet Bruce! Maybe you meant _who_? Who sent me these visions? Or perhaps _what_ sent me them? Truth be told I have no idea. Perhaps someone from the future had implanted visions in my head? Maybe I am myself from the future and simply only remember flashes? There may be some kind of mutation within my body that grants me these abilities? Is it possible that an almighty God has chosen the one who denies his existence as his crusader? Hell, I may very well just be bat shit insane! But you would know about bat shit wouldn't you? But I think that we can count out that little possibility, since I already know that you are planning to throw silverware at me!" The Heretic screamed and strained his voice as spit flew from his mouth. Bruce winced and pulled his hand back away from the knives and forks behind him.

"Silverware Bruce! Silverware! You're pathetic!" A calm quickly flowed over him and he dropped his head. He slowly looked up as a horrific grin spread over his face. "At least Diana Troy begged for her life, you're just going to stand there and die."

Bruce felt something in him snap. His blood boiled and he charged the Heretic. "You're a liar!" He yelled as he swung hard at the Heretic. Heretic punched back at him, and their fists smashed into each other. Bruce screamed as the bones in his hand gave away and broke. Heretic brought his other hand up and slammed it into Batman's jaw, sending him flailing to the ground. Bruce spit out a glob of blood and a tooth came with it. He let out a painful grunt as the Heretic kicked him hard and he went rolling away. Police sirens slowly came to life in the distance. "Ah, can you hear it? It's the sweet sound of demise! It's your death march Bruce!" Heretic began dancing around by himself as the music for the party clicked to the next song and began playing a waltz.

"It is a black waltz for the Dark Knight, how lovely!" He said as the blades slid out of his sleeves and he cocked his head back and laughed.

"La da de da, de da! La de da da de da!" he spun by Bruce as he tried to stand and slashed him across the back. He took a dramatic step and kicked Bruce's feet out from under him. Heretic laughed and balled up his fists. "Your waltz is over Batman, It's time I end this once and for all." Heretic said as he raised his hands up got ready to kill the man before him. A crippling pain shot through him and he screamed. Heretic stumbled backwards as the blades slid back into his sleeves and he held his chest in pain. He dropped down to a knee and gritted his teeth as he coughed hard. Bruce got to his feet and cradled his broken hand against his stomach. "Looks like your little visions had a nasty side effect after all." Bruce said as he kicked at the Heretic hard. Heretic shot his hand up and grabbed Bruce's foot. "This is not a side effect of the visions you misguided fool. I made myself more than human, and there is a downside to everything." Heretic said as he pushed Bruce away. He stood and breathed heavily as he took a step back. "You… You have been blessed with an extra day or so of life, I suggest that you use it well Batman." Heretic said as he ran and leapt out of the glass window, shattering it without breaking his stride.

Bruce fell down to a knee and shook his head. He might have been worried, if he hadn't have put a tracker on the Heretic.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: When Heroes Fall**

Gothom City, Wayne Manor, later that night…

Bruce Wayne sat in his subterranean lair, brooding over his computer.

"Master Bruce, perhaps it would be wise to avoid further conflict until you have healed." Alfred said as he came walking down the stairway that led up into the mansion. Bruce thought about the bandages under his clothes and cradled his broken hand in his lap.

"I'm fine Alfred." He said as he stared at the huge computer screen in front of him. A red dot flashed on and off on a map of Gothom.

"He's been here the whole time… right under my nose." Bruce said to himself, spitting the words out like they were bitter. He stood up and walked over to the large display of numerous costumes he and the others had used over the years. He sighed and shook his head. "It has come to this… Voice code activation Wayne, Bruce." He said aloud. A computer voice came back after a second.

"Voice recognition confirmed, please enter password."

"Password… Beyond."

The display case slid open to reveal a hallway behind it. "Password accepted, welcome Mr. Wayne." Bruce sighed again and walked down the hall. He came into a small room with a black suit hanging up in a glass case. It was sleek and all black except for a red bat symbol on the chest. It had no cape, and the cowl was full faced with longer than normal horns.

"This prototype… I have no choice…"

The Heretic typed furiously over his laptop. DNA strands swirled on the screen as he altered a formula. A dim light lit the small warehouse he was in, just enough to see. His laptop was hooked up to a series of larger computers, all humming lightly, lights flickering on and off on the various consoles. A cylindrical glass chamber stood in the middle of the room, countless tubes and wires running to and from it.

"Alright… alright, good… yeah, yeah this is right…" He smiled as he hit the Enter key and the equipment in the room began to get louder, processing the information he had put into it. He stood up from his chair and took his coat off, draping it over the chair. He unhooked the wrist blade devices from his arms and sat them on nearby table. Heretic adjusted the tucked in black tank top he was wearing and opened the glass chamber. He was about to step inside when another crippling vision lanced through his head.

"AAGGHHH…" He winced and held his head. The side effects of his treatments began affecting him as well as pain shot through his chest.

"No… Dammit… not now…" He said to himself as he dropped down to a knee. He crawled into the chamber and slumped down as he managed to close the door behind him. The cylindrical glass chamber quickly filled with gas and obscured the nearly crippled Heretic.

Minutes passed as read outs displayed on the lap top and the equipment continued to hum. A batarang sliced through the air with almost no sound, piercing into the chamber and cracking it. The smoke poured from the chair through the crack around the batarang. The chamber slowly began to open and the smoke billowed out in a wave and dispersed into the room. Batman jumped down from a window as he de-activated his optical camouflage with a twist of the center of his utility belt.

"Heretic…" He said under his breath as a figure stepped out of the smoke. The Heretic came walking out of the smoke, his shoulder length white hair falling around his face in a mess. His eyes were wide with madness as a toothy grin spread across his face like a crack. His muscles bulged under his shirt as his veins carried this new serum through his body. He held his head back and took a long deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled. "Yes, this feels right, this is the final step… my transformation is complete! I can feel it! I can feel the perfection coursing through me!" He looked at the batarang stuck in the chamber, than over to Batman.

"Come now, you didn't really think that you could track me without knowing did you?" Heretic cocked his head to the side and looked Batman up and down. "Well, looks like someone got himself a spiffy new look, and just for me? I'm honored."

"It's a little more than a new look Heretic, you can bet on it!" Batman yelled as he held an arm up and fired several batarangs from a wrist launcher. Heretic ducked them, and closed the distance between them in a split second. Heretic came up in a hard uppercut, but Batman caught his fist. Heretic's enhanced strength and the strength amplifiers of the new suit canceling each other out.

"Well now, someone's packing heat." The Heretic said with a smile, a new found challenge shining in his eyes. Batman rocked the Heretic off of his feet with a hard right, sending him flying backwards and smashing into the glass chamber, sending a web-like crack through it. The new suit both bracing and protecting his injured hand. Heretic slumped down to the ground, than slowly stood up.

"I guess you're not as good as you thought." Batman said with a slight smile. Heretic smiled and cracked his neck.

"Don't you wish? Simply testing your strength friend." He said with a shrug. The Heretic ripped the batarang from the chamber and threw it at Batman and rolled to the side in one smooth motion. Batman brushed the attack away and fired a series of batarangs from his other hand at the Heretic. Heretic rolled past the attack as the projectiles struck the floor behind him. He rolled to his feet and reached for his wrist blades on the table. Batman was on him in an instant, rockets in his boots propelling him across the room and slamming into the Heretic. They crashed into the far wall with brutal force, but the Heretic was only stunned. He head butted Batman hard and drove his shoulder into Batman's stomach. Heretic charged, sending Batman crashing through the glass chamber and shattering it. Batman's fingers extended into claws as he raked the Heretic's back and shredded his shirt, slicing into his flesh.

"RRRAAGGGHHH!" Heretic screamed out in pain. He gritted his teeth as he grabbed Batman in a bear hug and began crushing him. Heretic laughed as he squeezed hard, compressing Batman in his powerful grip. Batman gritted his teeth in pain, but managed to tap a small button on his belt, sending a powerful electric shock through the suit and charging into the Heretic. Heretic flew backwards, smashing into the equipment in the room. Smoke rolled off of him as he climbed out of the destroyed equipment. "You tricky little…" Batman grabbed the nearby chair and flung it at the Heretic. Heretic ducked as the chair smashed off of the wall and went to pieces. Heretic scrambled towards his blades, but Batman fired batarangs from both hands, hitting the blades and sending them flying off of the table as the Heretic dove for them. Batman leapt up and jumped onto the table as the Heretic arose into view, a gun in each hand.

"Surprise!" He yelled as he opened fire. The bullets ricocheted off of Batman as he fell backwards off of the table. The Heretic quickly strapped on the wrist blade gauntlets and picked the guns back up. He leapt up onto the table, but Batman was gone. "What!" He said in surprise.

He was hit hard in the middle of his back, a crushing blow that sent him flying off of the table. Heretic planted a hand on the ground before he hit, flipping over to his feet but getting punched right in the face by an invisible fist. His feet were swept out from under him and he fell hard on his back. The Heretic rolled out of the way as another invisible strike slammed down hard and cracked the floor. He emptied his guns towards were he had just been, one of the bullets sparking off of the hidden Batman.

"Stealth? You are a tricky one!" He said with a grin as he leapt to his feet and dove over a table as a flurry of batarangs tore towards him. The Heretic came up from the other side of the table, a fire extinguisher in hand. His wrist blades extended as he threw it up, jumping into the air and slashing it. The resulting explosion of Co2 clouding out, and for a split second revealing Batman. That was all the Heretic needed, he was on Batman in a split second, slashing away with both of his blades. Batman's belt was struck, a pulse of electricity flowed over him as the optical camouflage shorted out. The Heretic laughed and kicked Batman hard in the chest. Batman stumbled backwards, but ducked as the Heretic came slashing at him again. The dark knight activated his boot jets as he grabbed a hold of the Heretic. They crashed violently through the ceiling and up into the night sky. The Heretic wrenched himself away, falling to the roof of the warehouse and landing on his feet. Batman flipped upside down as red wings extended under his arms, his jets propelling him towards the Heretic. They smashed into each other as the Heretic made a jumping leap towards the diving Batman. Batman's momentum smashed through the Heretic, both of them crashing down to the street in a heap. Heretic was the first one up, grabbing Batman's had and smashing it into the ground.

"You don't talk enough Batman! You're far to boring to fight!" The Heretic said gleefully as he smashed his opponents head into the ground again. Batman launched and elbow back, nailing the Heretic in the nose and sending him flying backwards. "And you talk too much!" Batman yelled as fired a single batarang. The projectile ripped into the Heretic's shoulder with ease, imbedding itself. "Shit!" He screamed in pain, but he noticed a small blinking red light on the batarang, and his eyes grew wide in fear. It happened as if time was slowed down, Batman shielded his face from the explosion with his hands, the Heretic ripped the batarang from his shoulder, desperately trying to get it away from him. The explosion echoed out through the night, illuminating the street in a ball of fire. Batman looked up to see the Heretic, slumped against a building, the wall behind him cracked. His clothes were shredded and burned; his shoulder was hanging too low on his body, dislocated. A gaping charred hole into him from his shoulder to his chest and smoke was rolling off of him. Batman looked at him warily, slowly approaching. The Heretic was unconscious, and that injury wasn't the kind of thing someone recovered from easily. Batman walked up to the Heretic, relief pouring over him, but his years of experience not allowing him to drop his guard. He fired a batarang, it pierced into the Heretic's stomach, not even a flinch; the Heretic was dead. Batman sighed and walked up to his finished opponent. The Heretic's eyes shot open, he was very much alive. In a split second everything changed, the Heretic dashed forwards, his blades piercing out into Batman's chest. They stood silently for what seemed like forever, Batman paralyzed by overwhelming shock and piercing pain. The devilish grin stretched over his face though the blood splatter. Batman looked down at the Heretic's wounds in disbelief. They slowly began to heal, the flesh twisted and formed, fully healing in seconds.

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh ha Ha HaHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!" The Heretic erupted into a long and venomous laugh that echoed through the night. His blades slid back in as Batman fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Heretic pulled Batman's mask off and threw it aside, staring into Bruce's eyes with his own twisted gaze. Another laugh began to escape his clenched teeth as Bruce slumped down to the ground, blood pouring from his chest as the life left him. The Heretic wiped the blood from his face as he took a step back.

"He was the last of them… the last those who would destroy humanity…" He said absently to himself, almost as if he couldn't believe it. He winced as a vision raced through his head, and seconds later he began to laugh. The Heretic simply nodded to himself as he walked away, disappearing into the night.

Bruce Wayne lay dead in the streets of Gothom, he was known as the Batman, the Dark Knight. He had been the last to fall, the final warrior to stand against the Heretic. Eventually someone would find him, maybe a random passerby, and his secret would be revealed to the world. Maybe the tracking device in the suit would lead Alfred to him before anyone else got there, and the death could be altered to hide the secret of Batman. One thing was certain, both Batman and Bruce Wayne were gone and better or worse, everything would be different now.

A man sat cross legged in his cell, rocking back and forth. This was Arkam Asylum, the last stop for people like him. His arms bound tightly by a straight jacket and his mouth covered by a mask. He was infamous in the underworld, a man known as the Joker. He heard the thick mechanical lock on his cell door flick over, and the door slowly opened. A doctor in a long white lab coat walked in, holding a hypodermic needle in his hands and closing the door behind him.

"Well hello there, it's time for your medicine." He said with a smile. The Joker shook his head, he didn't take injection medicine, something was wrong. He tried to scream, tried to do something, anything; but he was already sedated restrained. The doctor plunged the needle into his neck and injected its contents into him. The Joker felt the poison course though him in seconds, burning like molten steel. He convulsed as his body shut down, his last minutes of life draining away as the doctor laughed and ran a hand through his long white hair.

"You know, for a while I didn't think that I would have to do this, but now I see that it has to be done… there are two sides to every coin, there must be balance in this world you see, and now that one side of the coin is gone, the other must follow. Fortunately for me most of your kind are locked away in places like this, so my only real work is infiltrating… and, well we can see how hard that is now cant we?" He hummed a little tune to himself as he laughed again and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

_-Fin-_


End file.
